, 1887-12-01
PERU'S EXPOSITION.
SCENES IN THE STREETS OF THE
CITY OF THE KINGS"

position--Chilans' DsstruotiVenos"
Passing over one of the Rimac's tribu- I,
taries we enter aud pNss through the out |
skirts of Lima aud stop beneath the COW
cred station, whore, nlghting, ! fad my /
self amid some OF tho strange and inter- |
esting sights of the hundsomcst c!ty in |
all South America. Tho houses that |
lined the streets on either side, fairly |
tceming with lifc, seemed innumcruble,
and stood 50 closely that their roofs
touched. There - no space around the
LAnenO's residence for the yard--thuugh
many have small, square courts within,
more or less unattractiye-but we miss
the grass plots, howerbets and gravel
walks which enhance the appearance OF
Clr' \meriCan homes so much, Gardens,
bw,Sver, appear here and there along the
tofEets-invariubly, IL not public, the
property Of the uppcr classes--surroundcd
by the ever present adobe wall, which
detracts much from their natural beauty.
Yet mud is very important factor in
Limcno architecture; deprived of 1t, the
city would be but an unsightly mass of
ruins. Over onehulf Of the houses are
built of adobe--sun dried hrick--plustered
within and without with mud, and rooted
mainly with red tiles. n couple Of coats
of whitewash, in lieu of paint, complete
the dwelling. The poorer classes, who
form the greater portion of the population,
live in houses of bamboo, over which
net work of cane is woven plnsered on
all sides with mud, and rooted with BAN
boo or straw Lima possesses but two
stone buildings--a flour mill and the pcni-
tentiary. A few Of the line adobe rest
dences of the aristOCruCy are, however,
fronted with marble and cncirclcd with
wooden balconies; and those of tho foreign
residents are, in few instances, built OF
kiln burnt brcli---a few being composed
of timber. But Limu's archways, her
aQueduCtS, her palace, her CGthehruls, her
business blocks and public buildings are
constructed almost entirely of mud
grimy, uusigutiy mud cNeI>W Wherc-a city
of mud. The rePi ~ Of tiis--e feature
common to all these Cuuntrics---is the
great scarcity Of timber and GOOD stone,
the climate and ole fr,, ,luCnCy Of earth
quakcs: for which latter reason, the
majority of the DWELLINGS are but one
storied. And it may be IN place TO re-
mark here that the lower windows Of all
dwellings, and buildings. both public and
private in Linn are iron barred---I pre-
sumo because Of the numerous revolu-
tons that occur here so often. with their
attendant robberies and bloody street
tights.
Another noticeable feature is the ex.
treme cleanliness Of the streets and alleys
there is no dirt or refuse to he seen any
where, The Lima board of health, which
evidently understands its business, has
efficient aids in It's labOrs, without which
IL would have hard time in fighting
those diseases that ever infest dirty
tropical cities; these Indispensable helpers
are known in America rs "bu2zards, "
and Mt all hours Of the day they can be
seen standing on the housetops, their
glossy black feathers glistening in the
sun, or struttiug in the streets and by
ways, searching for refuse and filth.
They are very numerous and increase in
numbers each year, as there is Il strict
law against harming them.
Arriving ut length at the entrance Of
the exposition grounds, ] alighted, and
paying IA paper sole five cents, entered
through the high, iron barred gate.
Following one of the many neat gravel
walks, bordered with flower beds,
for short distance beneath the heavy
foliage, | found myself suddenly in the
midst of Il perfect wilderness Of sweet
smelling flowers
The date, the palm, the banana, the
orange, the cocoanut-in fact, nearly all
the tropical plants-werc here in abun-
dance. Birds of gay plumage, hidden
amid the thick foliage or circling in the
balmy air, We're making the gardens ring
with their strange noises. Monkeys, with
the concentrated mlSchlef OF an American
school boy, were scampering about upon
all sides. Busts and statues stood in
prominent spots; and arbors and cozy
seats We're scattered in cool and shady
places. Numerous fountains We're flash
ing in the sunlight, and flowing from
them in every direction, keeping every
thing green, We're small, clear streams
with messy and howery banks spanned
here and there by rustic bridges, where
one could watch the little fishes disporting
themselves in the limpid waters beneath.
1t seemed little Eden, it was SO lovely
and fragrant, so cool and refreshing.
Leaving regrotfully my shady retreat,
entered the chief building of the four
that in which the Lima exposition was
held in 1872 and the one which is also
used when the annual fair of Peru takes
place. But the buildings have been
stripped of almost all their valuables-